New York commercial advertiser: vol. 52

From the London Times.
The New Mormon State.
The intelligence we have received from America comprises a notification, which, though it can scarcely be described as importing any political novelty, is cer-tainly as suggestive of edifying reflection as anything which has transpired in those regions within recent times. The fraternity of the United States is likely to receive an additional member, and under circumstan-ces without a parallel in modern politics. For some years past the sect of the Mormons has been steadily growing in numbers, and in that cons deration which numbers, under the American constitution, cannot fail to insure. They played a conspicuous part during the Presidency of Mr. Van Buren, and they have repeatedly been courted by the great political parties in their strug-gles for power. Neither the vagabond life nor the un-heroic death of Joe Smith, the original "prophet," served materially to discredit this prodigious imposture, and at the present moment Mormonism is a more ac-ceptable and thriving doctrine than it has ever been before.
It is curious, though not perhaps surprising, that the sect is mainly recruited by emigrants of whom by far the largest proportion are from this country. Proselytism in the States proceeds but slowly in comparison, and although the settlements of the new religionists have always been on the outskirts of civilization, they have never made any converts among the aborigines. No-thing can be more remarkable than the superiority, in this respect, of instinct over education. Steady-going yeomen from Yorkshire and Cumberland pinned their spiritual and pecuniary trusts, with the utmost implicit-ness, upon a man whom the unlettered Indians denomi-nated TSHE-WAL-LIS-KE, which, in an English version, signifies a "great rascal."
The subsequent migrations of the brotherhood tended toward that extraordinary piece of inland water in the heart of Upper California termed the Great Salt Lake, which lies to the north-east of the gold country. Four years ago this district had not a single settled inhabi-tant, but so strong are the combined attractions of novelty, distance, solitude, false prophecies and gold, that the central Mormon city has already a population of 6,000, and a resolution has been taken to form the whole region into a "state"—to be taken and accepted as an integral part of the American Union.
In treating of the affairs of the American continent, we have often pointed out the extuaordinary character of the country as resulting from the distances between one state and another. The present instance furnishes a signal example of this peculiarity. Supposing that "Deseret" should be admitted into the political fraternity of the Union, the capital of this state will be separated from the seat of Federal government by 2,500 miles, being nearly twice the distance between Seringapatam and Delhi, and five-sixths of the distance between Liverpool and New York. It is, of course, well un-derstood that the constitution of the new state is virtu-ally based upon Mormonism, and that its internal e-conomy will be characterised by the peculiarities of this creed.
Whether such facts will operate as any bar to the pol-itical status now claimed is a curious subject of specu-lation. The Americans are, undoubtedly, not particu-lar to a shade or two of doctrine; or, as we should rath-er say, the general tendency of religious feeling in the Union is to subordinate doctrine altogether to practical developments of Christianity. Yet even the "Noth-ingarians" may be startled at the proposed recognition of so transparent an imposture as that conducted at Nauvoo. The convention, however, proceeded very adroitly in their business.
Not only did they avoid any mention of the WILMOT proviso, and every allusion to the disagreeable topic of slavery, but they even supressed any particular reference to the creed of the state, premising, merely in general terms, that "all men have a natural and inalienable ight to worship GOD according to the dictates of their own consciences," and expressly ordaining that the General Assembly of the new state "should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro-hibiting the free exercise thereof, or disturbing any person in his religious sentiment, provided he does not disturb others—a toleration which will probably recall to the reader's mind the liberality of King JAMES II to the Nonconformists.
But, beyond doubt, the most interesting point of the question is that operation of popular credulity or su-perstition which still serves to maintain this prodigious doctrine in practical vitality. Joe Smith lived before the world for years together in the full reality of con-victed scoundrelism. There was not an atom of mys-tery or doubt about the knave's whole character, nor did he even condescend to the austerities or hypocrisies of a religious impostor. He drank, swore, and swin-dled—drove about with a lumbering wagon, in a broad-brimmed hat, cracking his whip like a courier, and could scarcely stutter an intelligible address to extort the dollars of his followers.
Yet year after year, as we understand, the emigration still sets toward these fanatical sectaries from the port of Liverpool, and what is even more extraordinary, is found to consist, for the most part, of a bettermost sort of people—small farmers, intelligent tradesmen and well to do laborers, with a respectable portion of capi-tal among them. What can be the explanation of this? Is it that colonization, when conducted on professions of religion, however false, possesses attractions above that system which makes no religious provision at all? The anomaly well deserves an inquiry.

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

From the London Times.
The New Mormon State.
The intelligence we have received from America comprises a notification, which, though it can scarcely be described as importing any political novelty, is cer-tainly as suggestive of edifying reflection as anything which has transpired in those regions within recent times. The fraternity of the United States is likely to receive an additional member, and under circumstan-ces without a parallel in modern politics. For some years past the sect of the Mormons has been steadily growing in numbers, and in that cons deration which numbers, under the American constitution, cannot fail to insure. They played a conspicuous part during the Presidency of Mr. Van Buren, and they have repeatedly been courted by the great political parties in their strug-gles for power. Neither the vagabond life nor the un-heroic death of Joe Smith, the original "prophet," served materially to discredit this prodigious imposture, and at the present moment Mormonism is a more ac-ceptable and thriving doctrine than it has ever been before.
It is curious, though not perhaps surprising, that the sect is mainly recruited by emigrants of whom by far the largest proportion are from this country. Proselytism in the States proceeds but slowly in comparison, and although the settlements of the new religionists have always been on the outskirts of civilization, they have never made any converts among the aborigines. No-thing can be more remarkable than the superiority, in this respect, of instinct over education. Steady-going yeomen from Yorkshire and Cumberland pinned their spiritual and pecuniary trusts, with the utmost implicit-ness, upon a man whom the unlettered Indians denomi-nated TSHE-WAL-LIS-KE, which, in an English version, signifies a "great rascal."
The subsequent migrations of the brotherhood tended toward that extraordinary piece of inland water in the heart of Upper California termed the Great Salt Lake, which lies to the north-east of the gold country. Four years ago this district had not a single settled inhabi-tant, but so strong are the combined attractions of novelty, distance, solitude, false prophecies and gold, that the central Mormon city has already a population of 6,000, and a resolution has been taken to form the whole region into a "state"—to be taken and accepted as an integral part of the American Union.
In treating of the affairs of the American continent, we have often pointed out the extuaordinary character of the country as resulting from the distances between one state and another. The present instance furnishes a signal example of this peculiarity. Supposing that "Deseret" should be admitted into the political fraternity of the Union, the capital of this state will be separated from the seat of Federal government by 2,500 miles, being nearly twice the distance between Seringapatam and Delhi, and five-sixths of the distance between Liverpool and New York. It is, of course, well un-derstood that the constitution of the new state is virtu-ally based upon Mormonism, and that its internal e-conomy will be characterised by the peculiarities of this creed.
Whether such facts will operate as any bar to the pol-itical status now claimed is a curious subject of specu-lation. The Americans are, undoubtedly, not particu-lar to a shade or two of doctrine; or, as we should rath-er say, the general tendency of religious feeling in the Union is to subordinate doctrine altogether to practical developments of Christianity. Yet even the "Noth-ingarians" may be startled at the proposed recognition of so transparent an imposture as that conducted at Nauvoo. The convention, however, proceeded very adroitly in their business.
Not only did they avoid any mention of the WILMOT proviso, and every allusion to the disagreeable topic of slavery, but they even supressed any particular reference to the creed of the state, premising, merely in general terms, that "all men have a natural and inalienable ight to worship GOD according to the dictates of their own consciences," and expressly ordaining that the General Assembly of the new state "should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro-hibiting the free exercise thereof, or disturbing any person in his religious sentiment, provided he does not disturb others—a toleration which will probably recall to the reader's mind the liberality of King JAMES II to the Nonconformists.
But, beyond doubt, the most interesting point of the question is that operation of popular credulity or su-perstition which still serves to maintain this prodigious doctrine in practical vitality. Joe Smith lived before the world for years together in the full reality of con-victed scoundrelism. There was not an atom of mys-tery or doubt about the knave's whole character, nor did he even condescend to the austerities or hypocrisies of a religious impostor. He drank, swore, and swin-dled—drove about with a lumbering wagon, in a broad-brimmed hat, cracking his whip like a courier, and could scarcely stutter an intelligible address to extort the dollars of his followers.
Yet year after year, as we understand, the emigration still sets toward these fanatical sectaries from the port of Liverpool, and what is even more extraordinary, is found to consist, for the most part, of a bettermost sort of people—small farmers, intelligent tradesmen and well to do laborers, with a respectable portion of capi-tal among them. What can be the explanation of this? Is it that colonization, when conducted on professions of religion, however false, possesses attractions above that system which makes no religious provision at all? The anomaly well deserves an inquiry.